ABC11 Anchor Joel Brown filed this personal report after attending a ceremony at Duke University where a building was renamed to honor his great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather.
I had been inside Duke University’s East Campus student union before — but this was my first visit with my own ancestors’ portraits hanging in honor on these wood-paneled walls.
“I wasn’t expecting it but I think I got a chill when I walked in and saw the portraits,” I told Duke President Vincent Price as we stood together in what now will be known as the Wall Center.
The building now renamed in honor of George and George-Frank Wall.
“It is striking,” Price replied. “We are in our centennial year; especially reckoning with our history; the history of the South. The history of Duke University reflects that. And George Wall’s life reflects that.”
George Wall was my great-great-grandfather, and his legacy at Duke outlives the university. He was born into slavery, emancipated at 14, and hired as a servant by Trinity College president Braxton Craven.